Context-based interactive plush toy

ABSTRACT

An interactive toy for interacting with a user while a story is being read aloud from a book or played from a movie/video. The toy includes a speech recognition unit that receives and detects certain triggering phrases as they are read aloud or played from a companion literary work. The triggering phrase read aloud from the book or played in the movie/video may have independent significance or may only have significance when combined with other phrases read aloud from the book or played in the movie/video. In one embodiment, the toy is configured to detect only certain types of triggering prompts in certain states, such as, for example, triggering phrases or triggering terms. In this embodiment, and others, the toy is configured to switch between states such that it can at times respond to triggering terms and at other times respond to triggering phrases.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/116,927, filed May 26, 2011, which itself is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/625,977, filed Nov. 25, 2009, both of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an interactive toy. More particularly,this invention relates to a toy having electronic components therein toactivate an interactive program in response to a context-based prompt orset of context-based prompts.

The toy includes a body having an interior cavity (or cavities) in whichthe electrical components are concealed. A user engagable activationswitch is provided to initiate interaction with the toy. In oneembodiment, the toy is programmed to receive and interpret spoken wordsand, depending on the analysis, provide a specific response.

In another embodiment, the spoken words are provided to the user as partof a literary work, such as, for example, a book. In this embodiment,the user reads the book aloud and the toy receives the spoken words andanalyzes them. When a triggering phrase or set of phrases is detected,the toy activates a pre-programmed response. The triggering phrases ofthe current invention are included as part of the literary work and, insome embodiments, the user does not even known what phrases will triggerthe response. In other embodiments, the triggering phrases aredifferentiated from surrounding text such that the user will know when atriggering phrase is about to be read aloud. In a different embodiment,the literary work may comprise a movie or television show. In thisexample, the toy is programmed to respond to certain triggering phrasesthat are broadcast as the movie/show is playing.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, phrases thattrigger or correspond to a particular response are selectively placedwithin the literary work. For example, a triggering phrase could beplaced at the beginning of a sentence or at the end of a page of thebook. This selective placement facilitates reception and analysis ofspeech in a speech recognition unit positioned in the interactive toy.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention overthe prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of thedrawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the invention noted above are explained in more detailwith reference to the embodiments illustrated in the attached drawingfigures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, in whichFIGS. 1-5 illustrate one of several possible embodiments of the presentinvention, and in which:

FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of an interactive toy and booksystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a front perspective view of an interactive toy and moviesystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a book of FIG. 1A having certaintriggering and non-triggering phrases in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of the interactive plush toy ofFIGS. 1A and 1B with some of the exterior features of the toy addressed;

FIG. 3B is a front perspective view of the interactive plush toy ofFIGS. 1A and 1B with some of the interior features of the toy addressed;

FIG. 4A is an illustration of one implementation of the presentinvention in which a father is reading a book to his child;

FIG. 4B is an excerpted flow diagram illustrating one exemplary methodof interacting with a user;

FIG. 4C is an excerpted flow diagram illustrating another exemplarymethod of interacting with a user;

FIG. 5A is an excerpted flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method ofactivating triggering phrases from a memory to facilitate userinteraction;

FIG. 5B is an excerpted diagram of embodiments of the present inventionillustrating the relational programming of leading triggering phrasesand lagging triggering phrases;

FIGS. 6A-6D are excerpted flow diagrams illustrating exemplary methodsof activating an interactive response or alternate state based ondetected prompts in a first state;

FIGS. 7A-7C are excerpted flow diagrams illustrating a second set ofexemplary methods of activating an interactive response or alternatestate based on detected prompts in a first state;

FIG. 8 is an excerpted flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodimentof the present application concerning device-state modification based onrecognized prompts; and

FIG. 9 is an excerpted flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method ofactivating alternate states or modes based on detection of prompts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings in more detail and initially to FIG. 1A,numeral 100A generally refers to a system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In system 100A, numeral 110designates a book, book 110 being distributed with an interactive plushtoy 120 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It isto be appreciated that book 110 could be any work of literature, suchas, for example, a manuscript, a movie (e.g., on VHS, DVD, or any livemedia broadcast), a magazine (not shown), and so on. By way of furtherexample, the work of literature in system 100A could include any live orlive-action performance, such as, for example, live television programs,internet broadcasts, radio programming, and so on. Indeed, book 110could be a greeting card with or without media functionalities. In oneembodiment, book 110 does not include any special features orelectronics, only carefully selected phrasing or words. That is, book110 includes a number of phrases, some of which are triggering phrases150, such as, triggering phrases 150 a, 150 b, 150 c, and so on. As usedherein, a “triggering phrase” can be any combination of words (or wordsoccurring alone) that are programmed to elicit one or more responses ina device, such as, for example, interactive plush toy 120. The onlyrequirement is that the phrase form a part of a narrative of a storybeing told. In addition to triggering phrases 150, book 110 includesother phrases, such as non-triggering phrases 160 (shown asnon-triggering phrases 160 a, 160 b, and 160 c). A “non-triggeringphrase” is any combination of words (or words occurring alone) that isnot a “triggering phrase.” Like “triggering phrases,” “non-triggeringphrases” form a part of a narrative of a story being told. Thus,triggering phrases 150 and non-triggering phrases 160 combine to form aportion of a story being told, such as, for example, a portion of thestory being told in book 110. When the story told in book 110 is readaloud by a user, the user incidentally reads both triggering phrases 150and non-triggering phrases 160. Interactive plush toy 120, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention, is configured to respondto triggering phrases 150 read aloud by the user. In certainembodiments, the responses activated by triggering phrases 150 arebased, at least in part, by the location of triggering phrases 150relative to other triggering phrases 150 in book 110 (e.g., response fortriggering phrase 150 b being based, at least in part, on previouslydetecting that a user read aloud triggering phrase 150 a).Alternatively, the responses activated by triggering phrases 150 arebased, at least in part, by the location of triggering phrases 150relative to one or more of non-triggering phrases 160 in book 110 (e.g.,response activated for triggering phrase 150 c is optionally based, inpart, on the sequence of triggering and non-triggering phrasesillustrated in FIG. 1, including 160 b, 150 c, 160 c). In still furtherembodiments, the response provided by interactive plush toy 120coincides with the story told in book 110 and, as such, adds to orsupplements the narrative included therein.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, numeral 100B generally refers to a system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In system 100B,numeral 180 designates a movie, the movie 180 being distributed with aninteractive plush toy 190 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. Alternatively, the plush toy 190 may be distributedseparately, but designed to work with the movie 180. As is now clear,embodiments of the present invention encompass all types of literaryworks, including books and movies. As used herein, “literary works”include all works expressed in words or numbers, or other verbal ornumeral symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the materialobjects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film,tapes, and discs on which the literary works are embodied. “Literaryworks,” thus, also includes all works that consist of a series ofrelated images which are intrinsically intended to be shown by the useof machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronicequipment (e.g., VCRs, computers, or DVD players) together withaccompanying sounds, regardless of the nature of the material object,such as films, tapes, or memory devices, in which the literary work isembodied. For present purposes, however, “literary works” are limited inthat they must describe a sequence of fictional or non fictional events.In this regard, “literary works” would not include, for example, “cuecards” and the like that fail to describe a sequence of fictional ornon-fictional events.

Like book 110 discussed with regard to FIG. 1A, movie 180 includescarefully selected phrasing or words, that is, movie 180 includes anumber of phrases, some of which are triggering phrases (not shown) andothers that are non-triggering phrases (also not shown). Combined, thetriggering phrases and the non-triggering phrases form at least a partof a story told in the movie, in that they join to describe a sequenceof fictional or non-fictional events. While movie 180 is played,triggering phrases 150 and non-triggering phrases 160 are incidentallybroadcast to interactive plush toy 190. Interactive plush toy 190, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention, is configuredto respond to the triggering phrases it receives while movie 180 isbeing played. In certain embodiments, the response activated by thetriggering phrases are based, at least in part, by the location of thetriggering phrases relative to other triggering phrases in movie 180 orby the location of the triggering phrases relative to one or more ofnon-triggering phrases in movie 180.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an exemplary configuration of book 110 isdiscussed. This exemplary configuration is denoted as book 210. Aspreviously stated, book 210 includes a number of phrases, some of whichare triggering phrases 250. The location of triggering phrases 250 areselectively positioned among other phrases, such as non-triggeringphrases 260, such that they are more readily detectable by a speechrecognition unit (not shown) in interactive plush toy 120 of system 100A(for clarity, the exemplary triggering phrases 250 of FIG. 2 areunderlined with a solid line and the non-triggering phrases 260 areunderlined with a dashed line). In accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, triggering phrase 250 a may be selectively placedamong a first non-triggering phrase 260 a and a second non-triggeringphrase 260 b. In this example, the triggering phrase 250 a (“don'tknock”) is placed after a first non-triggering phrase 260 a(“once-ler”), at the beginning of a sentence, and before a secondnon-triggering phrase 260 b (“at his door”). In other examples inaccordance with alternate embodiments of the present invention,triggering phrases 250 may be embedded at the end of a sentence orwithin a clause of a sentence (such as a clause setoff by commas).Moreover, one or more triggering phrases 250 could optionally be placedat the end of a page of a book (or, at the end of a sentence at an endof a page of the book). For instance, in FIG. 2, triggering phrase 250 b(“cold under the roof”) is a triggering phrase embedded within a clauseof a sentence. The sentence describes a sequence of fictional ornon-fictional events and forms at least a part of the narrative or storytold in book 210. This selective placement ensures that, as the book isread, a natural breaking or pause point occurs before and/or after theuser reads aloud one or more triggering phrases 250 of book 210.

Embodiments of the present invention also include selecting the words orphrases in a non-triggering phrase such that the non-triggering phraseis sufficiently contrasted from a triggering phrase. In this embodiment,non-triggering phrases with similar phonemes (i.e., elemental units ofspoken language) as triggering phrases can be rewritten or removed tominimize the incidence of false positives (i.e., improper detections oftriggering phrases). For example, a triggering phrase “Jingle even lovedto sing” could be combined with two preceding non-triggering phrases“Jingle loved to say hello” and “Jingle loved to fetch.” In thiscombination, the triggering and non-triggering phrases combine to read“Jingle loved to say hello. Jingle loved to fetch. Jingle even loved tosing.” Because “loved to say hello” is similar, in at least one phoneme,to “loved to sing,” this combination could increase the incidence ofimproper triggering phrase detections. As such, the entire combinationcould be selectively rewritten to read “Jingle loved to bark hello.Jingle loved to fetch. Jingle even loved to sing.” Alternatively, itcould be redrafted to read “Jingle loved to fetch. Jingle even loved tosing.” In this embodiment, the phonemes of the triggering phrases andthe non-triggering phrases are selected to contrast with one another.

Similar selective placement or drafting occurs when triggering phrases250 and non-triggering phrases 260 are embedded in literary work of adifferent medium, such as, for example, a movie on a DVD. In thisembodiment, the script of the movie (which corresponds to the text ofthe book) comprises both triggering (not shown) and non-triggeringphrases (not shown). While the movie is played, the story of the movieis naturally advanced as time progresses. Incidental to this process,certain triggering phrases are uttered by the characters or otherparticipants in the story being told (e.g., a narrator, and so on).These triggering phrases are optionally embedded within the script inaccordance with the methodologies generally disclosed herein, such as,for example, those discussed above with regard to FIG. 2.

Turning now to FIG. 3A, an exemplary construction of interactive plushtoy 300 will now be provided. Interactive plush toy 300 can be of anymaterial or construction, but in the illustrative embodiment disclosedherein, interactive plush toy 300 is a plush toy having a body 310 witha soft, furry exterior 320 and is filled with stuffing 322. In oneembodiment, interactive plush toy 300 includes a user engagable switch330. User engagable switch 330 is used for powering on the toy, suchthat, when user engagable switch 330 is engaged, interactive plush toy300 is powered on. In the illustrated embodiment, user engagable switch330 is located under the furry exterior 320, such as, for example, inthe ear of interactive plush toy 300. In other embodiments, userengagable switch 330 can be located anywhere, such as, for example, onthe furry exterior 320 or on the bottom of body 310. Interactive plushtoy 300 includes a head 340, which may optionally include a pair of eyes342, a mouth 344, and/or a nose 346. Body 310 of interactive plush toy300 may also include a plurality of limbs 312. It should be understoodthat “limb” as used herein can mean leg or arm, but should also beunderstood in its broadest sense to mean any outwardly extending portionof interactive plush toy 300 (e.g., ears, tails, and the like).Interactive plush toy 300 may optionally include any number of otherornamental flourishes, such as, for example, a collar 352, a tag 354, abell (not shown), and so on. In other embodiments, additional featuresmay be optionally incorporated into interactive plush toy 300, such as,for example, lighting devices (not shown) or vibrating devices (also notshown). For instance, in some embodiments, head 340 may shake or nod orthe bell (not show) may be configured to light up.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, interactive plush toy 300 may optionallyinclude an interior cavity 360 housing a number of electrical components370. Electrical components 370 are configured such that interactiveplush toy 300 can play audible messages to interact with the user (notshown) of interactive plush toy 300. Exemplary electrical components 370include, but are not limited to, a processor 372, a memory 374, a powersupply 376, a sound module 380, and/or a speech recognition unit 390. Insome implementations, any two or more of these electrical components370, including sound module 380 and speech recognition unit 390, can bephysically combined into a single device. In one potentialimplementation, sound module 380 and speech recognition unit 390 arecombined into one device that performs the functionality of either orboth of these components. Any number of other electrical components arecontemplated, such that a full interactive effect may be realized by theuser. Memory 374 could include any computer-readable media operable tostore data or information and, thus, could comprise Random Access Memory(“RAM”); Read Only Memory (“ROM”); Electronically Erasable ProgrammableRead Only Memory (“EEPROM”); flash memory; and so on. In someembodiments, memory 374 is removable such that it can be replaced,updated, or changed by the user to accommodate new or updated literaryworks. In other embodiments, the new memory is distributed with aliterary work, such as, for example, a new book or movie.

In the illustrative embodiment provided in FIG. 3B, power supply 376includes one or more batteries (not shown) positioned in interior cavity360 for powering one or more of electrical components 370. For exampleonly, the one or more batteries (not shown) may be positioned in abattery compartment (not shown) that forms a part of a battery housing(not shown). Power supply 376 is electrically coupled to user engagableswitch 330, such that, when user engagable switch 330 is engaged by theuser (not shown), electrical power is delivered to one or more ofelectrical components 370. User engagable switch 330 and power supply376 may be electrically coupled via one or more wires 378. In otherembodiments, user engagable switch 330 optionally activates a“listening” mode (i.e., a standby mode). In this embodiment, userengagable switch does not fully control power supply 376. Rather, inthis embodiment, one or more additional activation devices (e.g.,switches, buttons, and so on; not shown) control the delivery ofelectrical power to one or more of electrical components 370, In thisembodiment, the “listening” mode includes, for example, a current beingdelivered to one or more of electrical components 370 preparing foractivation of user engagable switch 330.

In an embodiment, sound module 380 may be at least partially positionedwithin interior cavity 360 of body 310 and electrically coupled withpower supply 376 by one or more wires 378. Sound module 380 preferablyincludes a speaker 382, a sound module controller 384, and variousrelated circuitry (not shown). The related circuitry may work with thesound module controller 384 to activate speaker 382 and to play audiomessages stored in sound module controller 384 or in memory 374 in amanner known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In one embodiment,processor 372 is used by sound module 380 and/or related circuitry toplay the audio messages stored in sound module controller 384 and/ormemory 374. In other embodiments, this functionality is performed solelyby the related circuitry and sound module controller 384.

Speech recognition unit 390 may also be positioned within interiorcavity 360 of body 310 and electrically coupled with power supply 376 byone or more wires 378. Speech recognition unit 390 preferably includesan input device 392, a speech recognition unit controller 394, and otherrelated circuitry (not shown). An exemplary input unit 392 could includea microphone or other sound receiving device (i.e., any device thatconverts sound into an electrical signal). Speech recognition unitcontroller 394 may include, for example, an integrated circuit having aprocessor and a memory (not shown). Input device 392, speech recognitionunit controller 394, and the other related circuitry, are configured towork together to receive and detect audible messages from a user orsound source (not shown). For example, speech recognition unit 390 maybe configured to receive audible sounds from a user or other source andto analyze the received audible sounds to detect triggering phrases.Alternatively, speech recognition unit 390 may be configured to receiveaudible sounds from a user or other source and to analyze the receivedaudible sounds to detect a sequence of triggering phrases and/or nontriggering phrases. Based upon the detected triggering phrase (or eachdetected sequence of triggering phrases and/or non-triggering phrases),an appropriate interactive response may be selected. For example, foreach detected triggering phrase (or the detected sequence of triggeringphrases and/or non-triggering phrases), a corresponding response may bestored in a memory 374 or in speech recognition unit controller 394.Speech recognition unit 390 may employ at least one speech recognitionalgorithm that relies, at least in part, on laws of speech or otheravailable data (e.g., heuristics) to identify and detect triggeringphrases, whether spoken by an adult, child, movie, or so on. As would beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, speech recognitionunit 390 may be configured to receive incoming audible sounds (such asaudible messages) and compare the incoming audible sounds to expectedphonemes stored in speech recognition unit controller 394 or othermemory device (such as, for example, memory 374). For example, speechrecognition unit 390 may parse received speech into its constituentphonemes and compare these constituents against those constituentphonemes of one or more triggering phrases. When a sufficient number ofphonemes match between the received audible sounds and the triggeringphrase or phrases), a match is recorded. When there is a match, speechrecognition unit 390, possibly by speech recognition unit controller 394or the other related circuitry, activates the appropriate responsiveprogram, such as, for example, the appropriate sound or action response.

Continuing with FIG. 3B, in one embodiment, nose 346 of interactiveplush toy 300 is constructed of the same or similar material orconstruction as furry exterior 320. In another embodiment, however, nose346 is made of a different material or construction, such as, forexample, any suitable polymer (e.g., polypropylene, polyurethane,polycarbonate, polyethylene, and so on). In any embodiment, the nose 346may be perforated, such that a portion of speech recognition unit 390(or sound module 380) can be positioned behind the exterior of the nose346. For example, input device 392 can be optionally positioned behindnose 346. In this implementation, speech recognition unit 390 is betterable to receive and detect audible sounds because there is lessinterference from intervening objects, such as, for example, furryexterior 320 or stuffing 322. In another embodiment, speaker 382 ofsound module 380 may be positioned behind the exterior of the nose 346.In another embodiment, both input device 392 and speaker 382 arepositioned behind nose 346 or any other natural or designed aperture (orseries or set of apertures). In still a different embodiment, one ormore of these devices, such as input device 392, resides outsideinteractive plush toy 300 entirely, and is optionally incorporated intothe companion literary work.

Interactive plush toy 300 may also include a number of other elementsthat are not illustrated in either FIG. 3A or 3B. Indeed, interactiveplush toy 300 may include a number of light elements, such as forexample, one or more light-emitting diodes (“LEDs”) (not shown) orincandescent light bulbs (not shown). Likewise, interactive plush toy300 may include one or more mechanical members (not shown) to be used inconjunction with an activated responsive program, such as, for example,mechanical members that facilitate a vibration or dancing program. Anynumber of other elements are optionally included, such that eachembodiment of the present invention may be realized.

Turning now to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, several exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention will now be addressed. As illustrated in FIG. 4A,a user 430 is reading a book 410 to a child 435 in accordance with onefeature of the present invention. As previously explained with regard toFIG. 1, book 410 includes a number of phrases, some of which aretriggering phrases (not shown) and some of which are non-triggeringphrases (not shown). When combined, however, triggering phrases and thenon-triggering phrases form part of the story told in book 410. Thus,when user 430 reads the story told in book 410, user 430 incidentallyreads both triggering phrases and non-triggering phrases. In oneembodiment, user 430 does not know which phrases are triggering phrasesand which are not because triggering phrases are not identified as suchin book 410. Alternatively, in a different embodiment, user 430 canidentify which phrases are triggering phrases because, in this example,triggering phrases are marked or otherwise identified to the user (e.g.,underlined, highlighted, shown in a different color, italicized, raisedtext, and so on). Thus, an implementation of the present inventionbecomes clear. User 430 reads from book 410 to child 435. Book 410includes some story or narrative of interest to the child 435. As user430 reads the story told in book 410, certain triggering phrases areincidentally read aloud. As user 430 reads the story told in book 410,and incidentally reads triggering phrases embedded therein, interactiveplush toy 420 is configured to respond to triggering phrases as they areread aloud. This process is more fully described in FIG. 4B.

Turning to FIG. 4B, an exemplary method in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention is disclosed. At step 470, a toy,such as interactive plush toy 420, receives a first set of audiblesounds from a user. The first set of audible sounds corresponds to thetext of a book, such as book 410, as the book is read aloud by a user.In one embodiment, the audible sounds include the voice of the user asthe user reads the book aloud. In other embodiments, however, theaudible sounds may be received from any source, such as, for example, achild. In the latter embodiment, the book, such as book 410, mayinstruct the user or the child to read or recite certain phrases in thebook, such as, for example, certain triggering or non-triggeringphrases. The audible sounds received by the toy, such as interactiveplush toy 420, correspond to text read aloud from the book that containsany number of triggering phrases and any number of non-triggeringphrases. When read together, the triggering and non-triggering phrasesform a narrative in the book, such as book 410, that describes asequence of fictional or non-fictional events. For example, thetriggering and non-triggering phrases can combine to tell the story of alittle dog that behaves very well.

Thereafter, at step 472, the toy analyzes the first set of audiblesounds. The first set of audible sounds is analyzed to detect a firstphrase, such as, for example, a triggering phrase. This triggeringphrase can be any phrase that forms a part of the story told in thebook. The toy, such as interactive plush toy 420, then detects whetherthe received audible sounds correspond to at least one of the triggeringphrases embedded in the book. The toy, such as interactive plush toy420, compares the audible sounds to a list of triggering phrases storedin a controller (such as speech recognition unit controller 394discussed in FIG. 3B) or a memory (such as memory 374 discussed in FIG.3B). In one embodiment, the speech recognition unit receives audiblesounds and divides them into phonemes. In this embodiment, the phonemesof the received audible sounds are compared against the phonemes of theprogrammed triggering phrases to detect a match. When a match is made, acontroller device (such as speech recognition unit controller 394,discussed above at FIG. 3B) determines which responsive program shouldbe activated and activates that responsive program. In thisimplementation, because phonemes are compared, the speech recognitionunit does not discriminate on the bases of pitch and/or tempo. In thisregard, embodiments of the present invention are suited for any soundsource, such as, for example, an adult's voice, a child's voice, or evena character in a movie. It should be noted, however, that other speechrecognition technologies are contemplated within the scope of thepresent invention, such as, for example, sound frequency and/oramplitude-based speech recognition algorithms.

When a triggering phrase is detected, at step 474, the toy, such asinteractive plush toy 420, activates a responsive program. Theresponsive program can take many forms, such as, for example, an audiofile, a mechanical program (e.g., a dancing program, a vibrationprogram, and so on), a lighting program, and the like. In oneembodiment, the potential responsive programs supplement or augment thenarrative or story being told in the literary work. For example, thetriggering phrase read aloud from the book may include a reference to a“dog barking real loud.” Upon detection of this phrase, the methoddiscussed in FIG. 4B activates a pre-programmed responsive program, suchas, for example, an audio file of a dog barking. For furtherillustration, the triggering phrase read aloud from the book may includea reference to a dog that “is really, really cold.” When this potentialtriggering phrase is detected by a toy dog, such as interactive plushtoy 420, the toy dog can activate a movement program, wherein all orpart of the toy dog moves. For example, the movement program may includea vibration sequence, in which all or part of the dog vibrates. Thevibration sequence supplements or augments the story because it appearsto user 430 that the toy is shivering because it “is really, reallycold.”

In another embodiment, the responsive program may comprise data orinformation. The data or information responsive program may be activatedalone or in combination with any other responsive program, such as, forexample, an audio file or a movement program. The data or informationmay optionally be displayed to the user or communicated to anotherdevice or set of devices. Communication of information or data may bethrough any standard communication method or means, including, forexample only, wired or wireless. Wired configurations optionally includeserial wiring, firewire, USB, and so on. Wireless configurationsoptionally include any radio frequency communication technique, Wi-Fi,blue-tooth, and so on. In these exemplary implementations, the data orinformation may optionally be used by the receiving device or devices ina manner consistent with embodiments of the inventions, such as, forexample, to supplement the story being told, to activate a responsiveprogram, and so on.

Likewise, the triggering phrase read aloud from the book could mentionthe “bright red nose of the reindeer.” Upon detecting this phrase, forexample, a light program could be activated in which the nose of the toy(in this case, a toy reindeer) lights up (e.g., turns red). The lightprogram supplements or augments the narrative of the story because thelighting program occurs substantially simultaneously as the text is readaloud, appearing, to the user, to occur in response to the reading ofthe whole story. Other potential responsive programs, such as movinglimbs and so on, are contemplated within the scope of the presentinvention. The prior recitation of examples should in no way beconstrued as limiting. For example, a number of responsive programscould, optionally, be activated in response to a single triggeringphrase.

The process described in FIG. 4B may optionally be expanded to includeadditional iterations. One such iteration is explained in FIG. 4C. Asshown in FIG. 4C, the process begins much as the process illustrated inFIG. 4B. Namely, at step 480 the step described in FIG. 4B (step 470) isperformed. That is, a toy, such as interactive plush toy 420, receives afirst set of audible sounds from a user. Thereafter, at step 482 of FIG.4C, the toy analyzes the first set of audible sounds to detect a firstphrase, such as, for example, a triggering phrase. When a firsttriggering phrase is detected, at step 484, the toy, such as interactiveplush toy 420, activates a responsive program. All of these steps wereexplained above, with regard to FIG. 4B.

Continuing on, at step 486, the toy, such as interactive plush toy 420,receives a second set of audible sounds from the user. The second set ofaudible sounds may also correspond to the text of a book, such as book410, as the book is read aloud by a user. Much like the embodimentsdiscussed above, the second set of audible sounds may include the voiceof the user or may be received from any source, such as, for example, achild. When read together, the triggering and non-triggering phrasesform a narrative in the book, such as book 410, that describes asequence of fictional or non-fictional events. Because the user hascontinued to read the book, the second set of audible sounds containstriggering and non-triggering phrases that combine to continue thenarrative in the book formed by the first set of triggering andnon-triggering phrases. For example only, the second set of audiblesounds may expand on the story of the well-behaved dog discussed above.

Much like step 474 addressed above, at step 488, the toy analyzes thesecond set of audible sounds to detect a second phrase, such as, forexample, a second triggering phrase. In certain embodiments, the firsttriggering phrase and the second triggering phrases are different, butthat it not required. On the contrary, the triggering phrases may be thesame and may be differentiated with reference to non-triggering phrasesand/or other triggering phrases For example, a triggering phrase couldbe the phrase “Jingle is a good dog.” In the first occurrence of thistriggering phrase, the phrase could be embedded at the beginning of asentence and followed by the non-triggering phrase “Or so we thought.”In this example, the combination of the triggering phrase and thenon-triggering phrase would be “Jingle is a good dog. Or so we thought.”In this implementation, the triggering phrase “Jingle is a good dog” maycorrespond to a responsive program programmed in an interactive plushtoy dog, such as, for example, an audio file of a dog whimpering or amechanical response in which the toy dog cowers (lowers its head). Incontrast, the same triggering phrase could be combined with anon-triggering phrase “Jingle ran right inside. Indeed,” to form “Jingleran right inside. Indeed, Jingle is a good dog.” Here, the correspondingresponsive program may include activating an audio file of a dog barkinghappily or a mechanical response in which the toy dog wags its tail. Inthis regard, embodiments of the present invention contemplate not onlydetecting whether the received audible sounds correspond to at least oneof the triggering phrases embedded in the book, but also applyingcontext-based rules to detect a triggering phrase and activate theappropriate response. These rules can be stored in a memory (such asmemory 374, discussed with regard to FIG. 3B) or a controller (such as,for example, speech recognition unit controller 394 discussed above). Inother embodiments, context-based rules may include, for example, thepreviously received triggering or non-triggering phrases or thepreviously activated responsive programs. That is, the responseactivated upon the detection of a second triggering phrase can be based,at least in part, on the response activated upon detect of a firsttriggering phrase or, for that matter, the actual occurrence of thefirst triggering phrase.

Upon detecting the second triggering phrase, at step 490, the toy thenactivates a second responsive program. The second responsive programfurther supplements or augments the narrative in the book. In oneembodiment, the second responsive program is of a different kind thanthe first responsive program, such as, for example, an audio file versusa vibration program. In other embodiments, however, the responsiveprograms are optionally of the same kind (e.g., both audio files). Instill other embodiments, the first triggering phrase and the secondtriggering phrase each correspond to a number of potential responsiveprograms. For instance, a particular triggering phrase may correspondwith three potential responsive programs. The second triggering phrasemay also correspond with three potential responsive programs. In thisembodiment, however, both the first triggering phrase and the secondtriggering phrase only correspond to one shared or common responsiveprogram. Thus, when this sequence of triggering phrases is received anddetected by a device, only one responsive program satisfies bothtriggering phrases. In this example, the shared or common responsiveprogram is then activated in accordance with the procedures previouslydiscussed.

The process described above can be repeated as many times as necessary,such as, for example, a third or a fourth time. Each time, thesupplemental audible sounds correspond with text from the book and thesupplemental triggering and non-triggering phrases combine to continuethe narrative told in the book. As this process repeats, certaindetermination or detections may need to be stored (such as, for example,in sound module controller 384 or memory 374 discussed in FIG. 3B). Whensubsequent detections are made, these store results may be activated orcalled by the processor (such as processor 372 discussed in FIG. 3B) ora controller (such as sound module controller 384 or speech recognitionunit controller 394 discussed in FIG. 3B). Thus, the embodiments of thepresent invention include applying previously-detected or receivedtriggering phrases and/or non-triggering phrases to determine theappropriate response to any subsequently-occurring response, aspreviously described. Moreover, each triggering phrase can correspondwith a number of potentially responsive programs and, as additionaltriggering phrases are received and detected, the toy can update thelist of potential responsive programs that remain. When only onepotentially responsive program applies to all of the triggering phrases,that responsive program may be activated, at such a time or place whenit is appropriate and supplements the story being told.

In this regard, embodiments of the present invention encompassinterchangeable literary works. That is, certain triggering phrases in afirst literary work could elicit a particular response, depending on thearrangement of the triggering phrases (and non-triggering phrases) inthe first literary work. In contrast, a different arrangement of theseand other triggering phrases (and non-triggering phrases) could elicit adifferent series or sequence of responsive programs. Thus, the toys ofthe present invention can be programmed once and used with a numberliterary works.

Some of the processes described above with regard to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and4C will now be discussed in greater detail with regard to FIG. 5A. InFIG. 5A, a method of interacting with a user according to one embodimentof the present invention is illustrated. In this embodiment, at step510, a computer program or application activates or calls a number of“leading triggering phrases.” A leading triggering phrase is atriggering phrase that precedes another triggering phrase (e.g., a“lagging triggering phrase”) that, when combined with the othertriggering phrase, combines to define a unique program or response. Theleading triggering phrase may have significance on its own, such as, forexample, corresponding to a particular responsive program (e.g., anaudio file played when the leading triggering phrase is received anddetected). Alternatively, the leading triggering phrase may have nosignificance independent of one or more additional triggering phrases.In the latter embodiment, it is the combination of the leadingtriggering phrase with the lagging triggering phrase that defines theappropriate response. The leading triggering phrase can combine with anynumber of lagging triggering phrases, wherein any such combination candefine a responsive program unique to that leading triggering phrase andlagging triggering phrase combination. Likewise, a leading triggeringphrase may need to be combined with any number of lagging triggeringphrases to acquire significance, for example, to define a responsiveprogram. Thus, one leading triggering phrase could, for example, combinewith two lagging triggering phrases to define a responsive programwherein a toy dog closes its eyes and pretends to go to sleep.

This feature of an embodiment of the present invention is generallyillustrated in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 5B, embodiments of the presentinvention include programming a number of leading triggering phrases 550into a device, such as an interactive plush toy (for clarity, only a fewpotential options are illustrated in FIG. 5B). For example, leadingtriggering phrase 551 is “Howl at the moon.” Leading triggering phrase551 can have independent significance (e.g., activates a responsiveprogram, such as, a dog howling at the moon) or may acquire significanceonly when a lagging triggering phrase, such as lagging phrases 551A,551B, and 551C are received. Indeed, if, after leading triggering phrase551 is received and detected, lagging triggering phrase 551A (“Bark likea dog”) is detected, a different responsive program may be activated. Inthe example provided in FIG. 5B, this includes activating an audio filethat includes a dog howling and barking at the moon. Other leading andlagging phrase combinations, such as 554 and 554B, may not define aresponsive program and require further triggering phrases, asillustrated.

Returning now to FIG. 5A, at step 512, audible sounds are received.These sounds can be received from any source, such as, for example, auser reading a book or from the voice of a character in a movie beingplayed. Thereafter, at step 514, a comparison is made comparing thefirst set of audible sounds to the activated or called leadingtriggering phrases. At step 516, a determination is made to determinewhether the set plurality of audible sounds included one or more of theactivated or called leading triggering phrase. This process has beendescribed above, but generally applies laws of speech and speechrecognition algorithms to differentiate and detect a pre-programmedtriggering phrase. At step 518, a determination is made that the set ofaudible sounds did include at least one leading triggering phrase. Uponmaking this determination, a number of lagging triggering phrases areactivated or called, and the process may repeat. That is, when a laggingphrase is received and detected, it may, along with the previouslyreceived and detect leading triggering phrase, define an interactiveresponse. For example, in FIG. 5B, leading triggering phrase 551combines with lagging triggering phrase 551B to define a uniqueresponsive program (e.g., an audio file that supplements or augments thestory from both triggering phrases).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the interactive toy isprogrammed to operate in, and switch among, a plurality of predeterminedstates. An exemplary state, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, includes a phrase-detection state, in which theinteractive toy is programmed to only analyze and detect certaintriggering or non-triggering phrases. In other words, in aphrase-detection phase, the interactive toy is programmed to detectphrases as opposed to isolated commands such as single words, terms, orprompts that elicit a programmed interactive response. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the interactive toy is configured to operate in aterm-detection state, in which the interactive toy is programmed to onlyanalyze and detect certain triggering or non-triggering terms. Restated,the interactive toy in the term-detection state does not analyzereceived audible sounds to detect phrases (triggering and/ornon-triggering). In still another embodiment of the present invention,the interactive toy is configured to switch between the phrase-detectionstate and the term-detection state based on detected prompts, e.g.,detected phrases in the phrase-detection state or detected terms in theterm-detection state. Thus, according to various embodiments of thepresent invention, the interactive toy might analyze, detect, andrespond to certain types of triggering prompts in a first state, whilealso being configured to detect, analyze, and respond to a differenttype of prompts in a second state.

Dual- or multiple-state devices are advantageous because, among otherthings, they provide for greater context-specific interactivity with theuser. For example, in the dual-state embodiments of the presentinvention, interactivity is enhanced because certain triggering promptscan be more specifically associated with the narrative being told in theliterary work. For instance, a literary work could be written to includethe following triggering terms “green,” “yellow,” and “red.” Theseterms, however, are fairly common in many children's books and, thus,could result in a large number of false-positives if each triggeringterm was uniquely associated with an interactive response. Thus, ifthese terms always activated a predefined interactive responses (e.g.,an audio playback of a recording saying “Green means go” for “green”)every time the term was detected by the toy, the triggering terms willhave little interactivity with the user (aside from the isolated caseswhere the triggered response is relevant to the story told in the book).Moreover, by defining these common colors as triggering terms, the storytold in the book is somewhat limited by the desire to not have seeminglyrandom responses. For instance, defining “green” to activate “Greenmeans go” means that including a statement in the book that the “grassis green” is likely to cause the interactive toy to recite “green meansgo” in an inappropriate context. If, however, the triggering term“green” was only detected in a term-detection state, and a termdetection state was only activated after detecting a predefined phrase(or phrases), embodiments of the present invention are able to avoidthis and other problems in the art.

One example of these embodiments is illustrated in FIG. 6A. As generallydiscussed above (see, for example, FIG. 4A), embodiments of the presentinvention are operable to interact with a user reading a book. Aspreviously explained with regard to FIG. 1, the book (or any literarywork) may include a number of phrases that trigger responses by theinteractive toy. These triggering phrases may be placed among, forexample, a plurality of non-triggering phrases. The book may alsoinclude a number of triggering terms, as thoroughly explained above.Unlike a triggering phrase, a triggering term generally consists of asingle word or command (as opposed to string of words or commands thatcombine to define a triggering or non-triggering phrase in memory). Insome embodiments, the triggering term may be a long, multi-syllable wordor may even be two words. Multi-syllable or longer triggering terms canbe more easily detected and can render fewer false triggers. Asdiscussed above, when a user reads the book aloud, he or she also readsaloud all of the triggering prompts included within the literary work,e.g., the triggering phrases and/or triggering terms.

In the embodiments demonstrated in FIGS. 6A-6D, the interactive toy isinitially configured to be in a phrase-detection state (as shown by step600). This initial configuration may, for example, be the initialconfiguration upon power up by the user or, instead, may be the initialconfiguration based on any other condition or criteria (e.g.,information from the literary work, etc.). As explained above, in thephrase-detection state, the toy is configured to only detect andrecognize phrases that have been read aloud from the book. Inparticular, in the phrase-detection state, the interactive toy isconfigured to receive audible sounds as they are read aloud by thereader of the book (step 602). This process, of course, is not limitedto text read aloud from a book and, instead, more broadly encompassesany received audible sounds affiliated with a literary work designed foruse with the interactive toy (e.g., movie, music, etc.). As shown bystep 604, the interactive toy (which is still in the phrase-detectionstate) is further configured to analyze the received audible sounds todetect one or more phrases stored in memory. Because the interactive toyin this detailed example is in the phrase-detection state, it will notanalyze, detect, or recognize any isolated terms or commands. Thus, in aphrase-detection state, after a phrase is detected, it is recognized bythe interactive toy, as shown in step 606.

Depending on how the interactive toy is configured, this recognition maybe as simple as activating an interactive response, as demonstrated bystep 608A (FIG. 6A). It may also, for example, include switching from aphrase-detection state to a different state such as a term-detectionstate, as shown in step 608B (FIG. 6B). Unlike the phrase-detectionstate, in the term-detection state the interactive toy no longerrecognizes detected triggering or non-triggering phrases. Instead, inthe term-detection state, the interactive toy is configured to receiveand analyze sounds to detect a triggering term or command, asdemonstrated by step 610. The sounds, and in turn the triggering term,can be audible, such as a spoken word or words or other human creatednoise or a mechanical sound either live or in the playback of an audiofile, such as a “ping” sound once familiar with turning the page in aread along book. The sounds can also be inaudible. In one embodiment,the inaudible sound is an ultrasonic sound recorded in a recording thatis being played (e.g., a movie, TV show, read along CD) or generatedlive by a device (e.g., during a machine reading of a digital version ofa literary work). After detecting a triggering term, the interactive toyin the term-detection state is further configured to recognize thedetected term by, for example, activating a response (see 612A in FIG.6B) or again activating a different device state (see 612B in FIG. 6C).

In some embodiments, a timer function is employed after a state change.For instance, after detection of a phrase in a phrase-detection state(see step 606), the interactive toy is configured to switch into aterm-detection state and may further be configured to activate a timerassociated with the literary work, the detected phrase, or any otherparameter. In one embodiment, the timer sets the maximum amount of timethat the device will remain in the second state, which, in this specificexample, is the term-detection state. If, upon expiration of the timer apredetermined triggering term has not been detected or recognized, theinteractive toy may return to its previous state (here, thephrase-detection state). The return to its previous state may beproceeded by the playing of an audio file, as discussed below. The timerfunction allows the toy to return to its default or normal state shouldthe user skip ahead in the book, fast forward during the movie, or thelike. The length of the timer is not rigidly defined in any of theembodiments of the present invention and, instead, the amount of timebefore the timer-initiated state change can depend on a number offactors, such as, for example, the reading level of the book, thedetected phrase or term, or the like.

In one embodiment, depicted in FIG. 6D, the interactive toy allows achild to be a part of the story by seeking and responding to theirinput. Accordingly, in a book embodiment, where a parent is readingaloud a story from a book, the interactive toy is listening to theparent for a triggering phrase 602. Once a phrase is recognized at step606, the interactive toy plays a stored sound file (e.g., A1) at step607. The stored sound file is one that audibly seeks a response from thechild. After the sound file is played 607, the interactive toy switchesstates 608B and listens for the desired response from the child at step610. The listening step 610 occurs for a selected duration set by thetimer. If a term is recognized during the allotted listening time, theinteractive toy plays another sound file (e.g., B1, B2, or B3) that isresponsive to the detected term at step 611A. For example, if the soundfile A1 asks the child, “What farm animal do you see?”, sound file B1might be responsive to the term “cow”, B2 might be responsive to theterm “horse”, and B3 might be responsive to the term “chicken”. So, ifthe child responds, “Cow!” during the allotted time for the listeningstep 610 and the term “cow” is recognized at step 611, the interactivetoy plays sound file B1 at step 611A. Sound file B1 might be somethinglike, “Great eyes! I see the cow too, over by the barn.”, therebyletting the child know that it heard and liked their pick.

If the interactive toy does not recognize a term at step 611 during theallotted listening time 610, or the listening time 610 expires, theinteractive toy plays yet a different sound file (e.g., B4) that isgeneric at step 611B. For example, if the child does not respond at all,or the child responds with a term that is not one of the trigger terms(e.g., “lion” in our farm animal example above), the timer eventuallycauses the interactive toy to play sound file B4 at step 611B. Soundfile B4 might be something like, “I like all kinds of farm animals.”, aresponse that is not dependent on the term or absence of a term. Uponthe playing of a sound file at step 611A or 611B, the interactive toyreturns to the phrase detection mode at step 612B. Ideally, the bookwould then provide additional content for the parent to read thatincluded another triggering phrase and the cycle could be repeated.

Embodiments of the present invention are, of course, not limited tophrase- and term-detection states. On the contrary, embodiments of thepresent invention encompass any configuration state that is consistentwith the foregoing description and objectives for altering adevice-state. For example, configuration states can include specificword-count states. That is, devices that are specifically configured todetect prompts based on the number of words in the prompt, e.g., aword-count state such as a single-word state (term-detection state), atwo-word state (only recognizes two term phrases), a three-word state(only recognizes three term phrases), and so on (includingcombination-states of two or more of the foregoing such as a two- andfour-word state). Other configuration states may include, for exampleonly, states that detect terms or phrases based on language such as anEnglish-detection state, a Spanish-detection state, a French-detectionstate, and so on (language-detection state). Another example couldinclude gender-detection states, e.g., a female-detection state thatrecognizes triggering prompts spoken by a female (or a female-sounding,higher-pitched voice) and a male-detection state that recognizestriggering prompts spoken by a male (or male-sounding, lower-pitchedvoice). Similar embodiments can include configuration states based onthe user's or users' age(s), including a state that detects prompts froma parent (parent-detection state) or child (child-detection state), orany other age-based state.

Turning now to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7A-C, here theinteractive toy is initially configured to be in a term-detection state(as shown by step 700). This initial configuration may, for example, bethe initial configuration upon power up by the user or, instead, may bethe initial configuration based on any other condition or criteria(e.g., information from the literary work, etc.). As explained above, inthe term-detection state, the toy is configured to only detect andrecognize predefined terms or commands that are read aloud from the book(step 702). As shown by step 704, the interactive toy in theterm-detection state analyzes the received audible sounds to detect atriggering term stored in memory. Because the toy is in a term-detectionstate, it will not analyze, detect, or recognize phrases read aloud bythe user, e.g., triggering or non-triggering phrases. Thus, in theterm-detection state, the detected term is recognized by the interactivetoy, as illustrated in step 706.

Depending on how the interactive toy is programmed, recognition of theterm may simply require activating an interactive response (see step708A of FIG. 7A). It may also include, for example, changing theconfiguration state of the interactive toy such that it is no longer inthe term-detection state, e.g., changing to a phrase-detection state,switching to a specific word-count state, and so on. This is shown instep 708B (FIGS. 7B and 7C). In the new state, once a state-relevantcondition is detected, the interactive toy is further configured toreceive and analyze audible sounds to detect the relevant prompt, asdemonstrated by step 710. If the relevant prompt is detecting in the newstate, the interactive toy is further configured to recognize the promptand respond accordingly (e.g., activate a response, as show in step 712Aof FIG. 7B, activate a different state as shown in step 712B of FIG. 7C,and so on).

Shown in FIG. 8 is a conceptual summary of embodiments of the presentinvention. First, a device programmed in accordance with the methoddescribed in FIG. 8 activates a first state (step 800). The first statehas a first predefined category of prompts that may only be recognizedby the device in the first state (steps 802 and 804). In other words,the same prompt that is recognized by the device in the first state maynot be recognized by the device while the device is in a second state(that is different than the first state). Once a prompt within the firstpredefined category of prompts is detected or recognized by the device(step 806), the device is further configured to activate a second stateand/or deactivate the first state (step 808). The second state has asecond predefined category of prompts that may only be recognized by thedevice while the second state is active (steps 810 and 812). Thus, thesame prompt that was detected and recognized by the device in the firststate would not be recognized by the device while it was in the secondstate (e.g., prompts that are not associated with the first state). Ofcourse, in some embodiments, some prompts may be associated with morethan one predefined category of prompts and, as such, may be recognizedby a device in more than one configurations state (e.g., “the stoplightwas green” might be a defined prompt for a phrase-detection state andfour-word state stored in the memory of the interactive toy). Thus, thedevice is simply programmed to detect and recognize prompts that arerelevant to the active state of the device. Once a prompt within thesecond predefined category of prompts is detected or recognized by thedevice (step 814), the device is configured to activate a response (step816). Other embodiments of the present invention are likewise configuredto encompass any number of device-states, e.g., a first, second, third,fourth, and fifth state. The crux of the present embodiment is that someprompts are only recognized while a device is in a particular state andnot recognized while the device is in another state.

By way of examples only, and not in a limiting sense, some possibleillustrations of the embodiments of FIGS. 6-8 can be shown in a literarywork in the form of an electronic audio book. While the followingexamples use an electronic audio book with processing and electronicstherein, the same may be accomplished with a traditional paper book usedin combination with a separate plush toy having electronics therein, asdiscussed above. The electronic audio book has either a display forelectronically displaying pages of the book with text thereon or paperpages. The book also has a memory, where audio files, prompts, andprograms are stored, a power supply, a microphone, and a speaker. Inthese embodiments, the book is a children's book with a storyappropriate for a child. An adult begins reading the story to the childand the book is initially in the phrase detection state.

While the phrase recognition state discussed above has been foundsuperior in performance to traditional command/control voice recognitiondevices (i.e., devices that have a list of words that cause the deviceto activate every time any of the words on the list are detected—a termdetection state) in a number of respects (e.g., fewer falseactivations), the phrase detection state requires more processing powerand has a more difficult time recognizing phrases spoken by children. Inother words, there is a broader range of voices that can activatecommand/control states than phrase detection states. Consequently, whena term or phrase will be spoken by a child, it is often beneficial forthe device to be in a term-detection or command/control state, toincrease the likelihood the child's words are detected. However, whenmultiple words and phrases are going to be spoken by an adult and only asmall number are supposed to cause a response, it is beneficial to usethe more discerning phrase detection state. Accordingly, the presentinvention permits switching between the two methods for detecting speechto obtain the benefits of both methods.

Returning to the examples, the adult is reading the story to the child.This works well in stories suited for young children that likely wouldnot be reading the story themselves. The phrase detection state isanalyzing the words spoken by the adult. The words can containtriggering and non-triggering phrases. Upon detection of a triggeringphrase (e.g., “leave on time”), which may be required to be detectedafter a non-triggering phrase (e.g., “will the train”), the book mayactivate an interactive response 608A (e.g., the audio book activatesplayback of an audio file of a train engine running) or may switch fromthe phrase detection state to a term detection state 608B. Incombination with switching to the term detection state 608B, the bookmay play an audio file seeking to elicit a short, specific, audibleresponse from the child in order to get them involved in the story. Forexample, after the book detects the adult has read the phrase “Will thetrain leave on time?”, the book may switch to the term detection stateand play an audio file of a question for the child to answer (e.g., “Canyou say, ‘All Aboard’?). The book, now in the term detection state,easily detects the child say the word “aboard” when they respond, “Allaboard!” The book, upon detecting the child's response, activates aninteractive response 612A (e.g., playing back an audio file that says,“Yeah, we are leaving on time!”) and switches back to the phrasedetection state 612B in preparation for the adult to continue readingmore of the story. In this manner the child gets to interact with thebook and be a part of the story, as the book responds to them. Also, asdiscussed above, if the child does not respond or responds withnon-triggering terms, the timer causes the book to play a genericresponse to close that question and resume with the reading of the bookin the phrase detection state. The book can then switch back and forthbetween the phrase recognition state and the term recognition state.

In another embodiment, the book's responses to the child's answer of thebook's questions can be made dependent on the words spoken by the child.For example, the book may be activated in response to detection of acertain triggering phrase to play an audio file wherein the book asksthe child, “What is your favorite color?”. With the book in the termdetection mode, it may be listening for any of three terms. When thechild says, “Red” or “My favorite color is red”, the book detects theterm or command “red” and responds by activating an audio file thatsays, “I like the color red too.” In this manner, the child feels thebook is responding to them specifically. The child, next time throughthe book, may change their answer to test the book to see if it isreally listening to them. The child may say, “Green” or “My favoritecolor is green.” Again, if the term “green” is one of the commands inits list, it responds by activating an audio file that says, “I like thecolor green too.” If the color is not in the list or the child doesn'tanswer in a predetermined amount of time, the book may respond byplanning an audio file with a generic answer (e.g., “There are lots ofgreat colors.”).

To enhance the likelihood that the child responds with one of theselected terms in the list, the editorial and/or visuals in the book canbe created to “suggest” or “lead” the child to make a certain response.For example, if the book plays a sound file after detecting an adultread triggering phrase that says, “Make a sound of a farm animal”, thedrawing for that page in the book may have only a cow, a pig, and ahorse. The child, seeing that drawing, would be more likely to make thesound of one of the animals on the page. Those sounds can be the soundson the list. If the child moos, the book may play a sound file thatsays, “That's right! I like it when cows moo.” If the childcock-a-doodle-doos, the book may play a sound file with a genericresponse, such as, “I like all farm animal sounds.” The book, afterplaying the responsive audio, switches back to the phrase detectionmode, where it no longer recognizes the predefined category of promptsof the term detection state, so that repeated mooing by the child doesnot cause repeated playback of responses related to the moo sound.

The interactive toy need not be limited to the context of a book or aplush. For example, the interactive toy may be incorporated into awearable device 900, such as a costume or a mask. In one embodiment,depicted in FIG. 9, the interactive toy is a wearable costume featureassociated with a character (e.g., Batman's mask and cape). The wearable900 may be accompanied with a book (not shown) about the character(e.g., a story about Batman). A child can be dressed in thecharacter-related wearable while listening to an adult read the book.The wearable 900 includes the electronic components therein necessary toactivate an interactive program in response to received audio inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Such componentsmay include a processor, a memory, where audio files and programs arestored, a power supply, a microphone, and a speaker.

The wearable 900 may preferably operate in and switch between two modes,namely, a playtime mode and a storytime mode. Initially, when thewearable is powered up or turned on, at step 901, it is in the storytimemode and is configured to be in a phrase-detection state. The wearableor toy 900 is configured to receive audible sounds as they are readaloud by the reader of the book (step 902). The received audible soundsare analyzed to detect phrases that are stored in memory (step 904),similar to the process described above. However, in this embodiment, thetoy 900 is also listening for a command stored in memory 904. Theanalyzing of the received audible sounds to detect phrases and to detecta command 904 can be done simultaneously or sequentially. If a phrase isrecognized, at step 906A, the wearable 900 plays a sound file at step907 and returns to the receiving audible sounds at step 902. Forexample, if the wearable 900 recognizes the phrase, “Let's go get theJoker, Robin!”, the wearable can play an sound/audio file that says, “Tothe Batmobile!” in the voice of the Batman character. The wearable 900then continues to listen for other phrases from the book at step 902 andplays other related sound files at step 907 when they are detected.

If a phrase is not recognized at step 906A, the received audible soundsare analyzed to detect a command. The command can be a single word orgroup of words that are used to switch the wearable 900 between thestorytime mode and the playtime mode. If a command is not recognized atstep 906B, the wearable 900 then continues to listen for phrases fromthe book or the command at step 902.

If the command is recognized at step 906B, the wearable switches to theplaytime mode and, at step 908, to a term detection state. The playtimemode does not require the phrases from the book, but listens for variousterms stored in memory at step 910. This allows the child to play withthe wearable apart from with the book or in the confines of the book'sstoryline. The child, “untied” to the book, can run around and havetheir own playtime interaction with the toy 900. During the playtime,the wearable 900 receives and analyzes audible sounds to detect a term,at step 910. As discussed above in previous embodiments, the term can bea single word or group of words, stored in the memory of the toy 900. Ifa term is recognized, at step 912A, the wearable plays a sound file (atstep 913) and then listens for more terms (at step 910). For example,the child might say the word “penguin”, which is one of the terms storedin memory. When recognized at step 912A, the wearable 900, at step 913,plays an audio file that might be Batman saying, “I don't like thatguy's sinister laugh.”

If a term is not recognized at step 912A, the received audible soundsare analyzed to detect a command, at step 910. If a command is notrecognized at step 912B, the wearable 900 then continues to listen forterms from the book or the command at step 910. If the command (e.g.,“Justice” or “Justice League”) is recognized at step 912B, the wearableswitches back to a phrase-detection state, at step 914, and back to thestorytime mode, where it begins receiving audible sounds, at step 902,and analyzing them for phrases and the command, at step 904. In thismanner, the wearable can augment a story of a book (or audio or video)with an increased level (i.e., more accurate and fewer false triggers)of speech/voice recognition or can function independently thereof in aless structured environment where activation is more important and falseactivations are not as noticeable.

While the wearable embodiment discussed immediately above discloses theuse of an audible command for switching the toy 900 between playtime andstorytime modes, the switching between modes could be accomplished byother means, such as by a the sliding of a switch or the pressing of abutton. Additionally, other steps may be added to the sequence. Forexample, after the command is recognized (or the switch or button isactivated), the toy 900 could play an audio file to let the child knowthat it has switched modes. In one embodiment the means for switchingmodes could be a button that toggles between modes and powering on andoff. For example, press the button once and the toy 900 powers on instorytime mode, press again and it switches to playtime mode, and pressagain an it powers off. Sample audio files that could be played are:when switched to storytime mode, “I′m ready to read with you”; whenswitched to playtime mode, “I′m ready to play with you”; and whenpowered off, “Good-bye.”

It should be noted again that the audio that the interactive toy isdetecting can be from any source. It can be created live or can be aplayback of a recording. It can be audible or inaudible (e.g.,ultrasonic). It can be human or machine created. Similarly, it can befrom reading a literary work aloud or can be a “read along” recording,such as a CD or a digital audio file. It can be played on any devicecapable of producing audio (e.g., a computer, a phone, a TV, a digitalmusic player, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a PDA, etc.). In oneembodiment it is a DVD movie that has pings embedded in the movie andthe interactive toy responds based off of pings played throughout themovie. In another embodiment, it is a digital version of a book that is“read aloud” by an e-reader's text to speech engine. In yet anotherembodiment, it is a digital storybook playing back a prerecorded soundfile of someone (e.g., a relative) reading the text of the storybook.Other methods of producing audio are contemplated and within the scopeof the present invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth togetherwith the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent tothe method and apparatus. It will be understood that variousmodifications can be made and still stay within the scope of theinvention. For example, instead of being an interactive plush toy dog,the interactive plush toy could be a cat, a reindeer, a goat, or anyother animal or even a person/character. Instead of being plush, theinteractive toy could be constructed of any material. It will also beunderstood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility andmay be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations.This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the invention.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative of applications of the principles of thisinvention, and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interactive toy that performs a method forinteracting with a user, the method comprising: activating aphrase-detection state in which said toy is configured to receive afirst plurality of audible sounds corresponding to text read aloud froma book; receiving, through a microphone embedded in the toy, the firstplurality of audible sounds; processing a signal associated with thefirst plurality of audible sounds to detect one or more triggeringphrases, wherein the one or more triggering phrases are a combination ofwords corresponding to text from the book; detecting a triggering phrasewas read aloud by the user reading the book; upon detecting thetriggering phrase, switching to a term-detection state in which said toyis configured to receive a second plurality of audible sounds;receiving, through the microphone, the second plurality of audiblesounds; processing a signal associated with the second plurality ofaudible sounds to detect one or more single triggering terms, whereinthe one or more single triggering terms are predetermined words orcommands; detecting the one or more single triggering terms spoken bythe user; and upon detecting the triggering term, activating a responsesequence that supplements a story told in the book, wherein the responsesequence is determined from a pre-programmed response program.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein triggering phrases include a plurality ofnon-triggering terms.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein triggeringphrases include one or more terms that would be triggering terms in theterm-detection state, but wherein analyzing the one or more terms thatwould be triggering terms in the term-detection state does not causeactivation of the response sequence.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe response sequence is only activated when the triggering term isdetected within a predetermined amount of time after activating theterm-detection state.
 5. The method of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: when the triggering term is not detected within apredetermined amount of time after activating the term-detection state,switching from the term-detection state back to the phrase-detectionstate.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive toy is awearable device having electronic components therein for activating aninteractive program to perform the method in response to received audio,the components including a processor, a memory with audio files andprograms stored therein, a power supply, and a speaker.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein activation of the response sequence that supplements astory told in the book includes the device playing an audio file ofresponsive content when a triggering term is detected.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the device plays an audio file responsive to activationof the term-detection state to acknowledge the desired change in stateand to inform the wearer of the new state in which the device isoperating.
 9. An interactive toy that performs a method for interactingwith a user, the method comprising: activating a first state in whichsaid toy is configured to receive a first plurality of audible soundscorresponding to text read aloud from a book containing a triggeringphrase, wherein the triggering phrase is a combination of wordscorresponding to text from the book; receiving, through a microphoneembedded in the toy, the first plurality of audible sounds; processing asignal associated with the first plurality of audible sounds to detectthe triggering phrase; detecting that the triggering phrase was readaloud by the user reading the book; upon detecting that the triggeringphrase was read aloud by the user reading the book, switching to asecond state in which the toy is configured to receive a secondplurality of audible sounds; receiving, through the microphone, thesecond plurality of audible sounds; processing a signal associated withthe second plurality of audible sounds to detect one or more singletriggering terms, wherein the one or more single triggering terms arepredetermined words or commands related to the book; detecting that theone or more single triggering terms spoken by the user reading the book;and upon detecting that the triggering term was spoken by the userreading the book, activating a response sequence that supplements astory told in the book, wherein the response to the triggering term isonly activated when the toy is in the second state and the triggeringterm is detected within a predetermined amount of time after detectingthe triggering phrase and wherein the response sequence is determinedfrom a pre-programmed response program.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein triggering phrase includes one or more terms that would be atriggering term in the second state.
 11. The method of claim 9, themethod further comprising: if the triggering phrase is not detectedwithin a predetermined amount of time after activating the second state,switching from the phase-detection state to the first state.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the interactive toy is a wearable devicehaving electronic components therein for activating an interactiveprogram to perform the method in response to received audio, thecomponents including a processor, a memory with audio files and programsstored therein, a power supply, and a speaker.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein activation of the response sequence that supplements a storytold in the book includes the device playing an audio file of responsivecontent when a triggering term is detected.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the device plays an audio file responsive to activation of thesecond state to acknowledge the desired change in state and to informthe wearer of the new state in which the device is operating.